Halberd- a lance-like weapon that had a metal tip combining a point for penetration and a hook with an interior cutting edge so that foot soldiers could catch the anterior portion of the hock of the mounted enemy’s horse when it passed by, severing the extensor tendon and rendering the horse useless.

Hamstringing- process by which wild cattle were chased and brought to the ground by the use of a hock blade or scythe. This procedure was outlawed in Mexico in 1574, but was continued in Chile until the 19th century.

Hands- this is a measurement used in northern Europe to measure the height of horses. It was the equivalent to measuring the height of a horse by placing one hand width atop another until the distance from the ground to the tip of the withers was determined. Eventually, a hand was interpreted to mean four inches (a little over 10 cm) and the number following the period after the number of hands refers to the amount of inches beyond the full hand measurement. This number can only range from .1 to .3, as .4 would be equivalent to one more hand.

Hand span- this is the measurement used in the Iberian Peninsula to measure the height of horses. It was the equivalent to measuring the height of a horse by stretching one hand span (stretched thumb to stretched pinky) after another until the distance from the ground to the tip of the withers was determined. Eventually, a Spanish hand span was determined to be eight inches (a little over 20 cm) while an English hand span was determined as ¾ of a foot or 9 in. (22.5 cm).

Hat Brim- this is the horizontal projection that comes out of the base of the crown of a hat in order to offer some degree of shade from the sun or divert water run off when used in the rain.

Hat Crown- his is the portion of the hat in which the head is placed to hold the hat in place.

Haunches- this is the hindquarters of the horse.

Hazer- this is a horse and rider that ride on the opposite side of the steer from the horse and rider that are trying to carry out a certain discipline. The function of the hazer is to contain the bovine to a desired and predictable path so his partner can carry out his objectives. The driver member of the Chilean Rodeo paired team carries out a hazer role during part of the run. Other equine disciplines that use hazers are American steer wrestling and the Spanish sport of “acoso and derribo”.

Heterosis- the added vigor seen in an offspring that is greater than that seen in either parent due to the increased number of heterozygous gene pairs that combine dominant and recessive alleles.

Heterozygous- this is a genetic condition whereby dominant and recessive genes of the same trait make up each of the alleles.

Hippologist- Hippo is the Latin word for horse and logo is a reference to knowledge, therefore a hippologist is someone very knowledgeable about horses, or a horse expert.

Hock Scythe- lance with a crescent-shaped blade incorporated into the end of a lance that was used for cutting the tendons on the back of the hock in runaway cattle that were immobilized for slaughter. This is virtually the same principle that made the halberd an effective tool for foot soldiers trying to bring down their enemy on horseback. The difference was that the halberd was used to hook the hock of a horse that rode by, thus cutting the tendons in the front of the hock, while the hock scythe was used by men on horseback that approached the cattle from the rear and cut the superficial flexor tendon on the back of the leg above the hock. The Spanish term for hocking scythe is “desjarretadera”.

Holding Corral- this is a corral that was designed to hold a group of cattle, from which it is easier drive out the animal one was working with. In the half-moon arena (“medialuna”) of the Chilean Rodeo, the holding pen (“apiñadero”) used to be the place where 30 steers were held so that the paired team (“collera”) could pick out the steer they wanted to work. Since they started using the feeding chute and individual animals came out into the holding pen, this area is now used to drive the steer around in a circle in order to slow down the individual before driving it across the arena to the make the first pin.

Homozygous- this is a genetic condition whereby both the alleles for the genes causing a particular trait are identical in that both are either dominant or recessive.

Horse Breeds of Iberian Origin- breeds that descend largely from other horse breeds and types that existed in the Iberian Peninsula (today Spain and Portugal). Most of the native breeds of the Americas qualify as horses of Iberian origin.